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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27745765">Green Fire</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thorkyriebabes/pseuds/Thorkyriebabes'>Thorkyriebabes</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Spider-Man - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fantasy AU, MJ is mj, Medieval AU, Slow Burn, kind of, we don't see the name "MJ" appear until chapter like... 4 or 5 so, you'll see - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 20:01:42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>16,232</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27745765</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thorkyriebabes/pseuds/Thorkyriebabes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Being chosen is a great honor. If you are chosen, that is the village saying that you are the best of your generation, the strongest, smartest, and purest of heart. Tonight, they will select the next Chosen to be sent up the mountain. Peter awaits it with dread.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Peter Parker/Mary Jane Watson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chosen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Themultifandomtrash/gifts">Themultifandomtrash</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>for P, xoxo.</p><p>please forgive historical inaccuracies, this is a fantasy au</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Peter!” May calls, entering their modest home with a box full of fine wool roving. Aftr setting it down near her wheel, she makes her way up the ladder to the sleeping loft, peeking her head over the edge. “Peter, honey, the Choosing ceremony is tonight,” she sighs. Then she hauls her body up into the loft and moving over to sit next to him, letting Peter finish his row of stitches before she speaks again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We have to go, hon. We don’t have a choice,” she pulls him into a hug from the side, petting his hair. “I realize you don’t want to attend. I realize, you’re scared. I am too. You’re my only family, I don’t know what I’ll do if you get chosen.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Peter lets out a small whine at that, pressing his face against May’s shoulder and setting down his half-knitted blanket so he can hug her properly. “We could leave instead,” he suggests, taking a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. “We don’t have to stay here. All towns have a market for yarns and fabrics.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>May shakes her head. “This one is safest. The others are unprotected. They have no treaty, no guardian,” May reminds him, combing her fingers through his hair. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If I get chosen, the treaty hasn’t done us any good,” Peter points out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Peter, you do not know what your fate will be if they choose you. Perhaps you will live, sweetheart. We don’t know what happens to the chosen.” Well, the adults of the village do. Alas, it’s a privilege teenagers must earn, and her nephew has not yet.  After each Choosing, the village teaches its teenagers what lurks on the mountain.  Instead of learning that, though, the other children in the village have fed him myths about monsters, further increasing his fear of the mountain’s inhabitant. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It can’t be anything good, May,” Peter argues, shaking his head. “It could be a death sentence.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Peter,” May shifts so she can look at his face, even as he refuses to meet her eyes. “Being chosen is a great honor. If they choose you, that is the village saying that you are the finest of your generation, the strongest, smartest, and purest of heart,” she reminds him. “It is no death sentence. I refuse to believe that they would send the best of a generation to die.” But May knows what he does not.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But May, we know nothing about what happens to the chosen,” he complains, picking his knitting needles back up to start another row. “For all we know, the chosen become food for it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s enough,” May shakes her head, getting up. “I’m going to keep working on my gifts. After that row, come down. You need to bathe.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, get all dressed up for them to send me to my death,” Peter mutters, rolling his eyes, focusing on his knitting needles. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>May sews and sews, for she only has a few more hours to finish preparing her gifts. A beautiful felted red cloak and a matching saddle blanket will make fine and expensive gifts for the chosen. Whoever it is, they will receive many gifts to aid them on their journey up the mountain. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Soon enough, Peter descends from the loft. May pauses her work to she take the water off the fire and pour it into the washtub. When she’s done, she goes outside and gets more water for the tub from the well. When she returns, she pours the water in, before she indicates for Peter to get in the tub. She gets their soap from where she keeps it near the washtub and handing it to him. “Let me know if you need help with your back, honey. I’ll give you some privacy,” she pats his back. “I have some new clothes for you, but first, you will let me know when you’re done so I can cut your hair.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, Aunt May,” Peter agrees, sighing and getting started on washing his hair when she leaves. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Soon enough, he’s finished, having scrubbed every inch of his body to get prepared for the Choosing ceremony. After getting out, he calls for May when he’s done drying off by the fire. She gives him a blanket to wear while she cuts his hair, then combs through it. When she’s done, she hands him a fresh shirt and pants, the shirt of white linen and the pants of deep brown. May leaves him alone to change, folding her gifts away into her basket and hiding her late husband’s knife in between the layers of fabric. She knows in her heart that tonight will be her last meal with her nephew. Now, May has no doubts that they will choose him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Peter being chosen will be a great honor for their family. May will not need to worry about her own survival without her nephew. Raising a Chosen brings with it its own privileges. She will not need to worry about feeding herself or keeping the house together, the village will care for her. No, she won’t have to worry about teaching her craft to another to make sure the village continues to have a spinner. The village will give her with another apprentice to compensate for the one she will lose tonight. Alas, despite knowing all of this, May finds tears streaming down her face as she walks slightly behind her nephew on their way into the town’s square. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>May’s friend, Dana, walks next to her and comforts her. “May, he isn’t being sent to his death. He will still live. Perhaps She will let him visit. We do not know what Her moods will dictate.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But perhaps she won’t let him visit, Dana. She can be a cruel mistress when She is upset, and Her moods last centuries. She may even choose to eat him, and then ask for a new Chosen,” May frets. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“May, the last time that happened was so long ago,” Dana reminds her friend, shaking her head. “Besides, Peter is such a sweet boy, I’m sure She will be thrilled with him in her service.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He is sweet,” May smiles, watching him as he lines up with the other teenagers from the village. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And he is smart, May. You know She values the ability to learn over all traits. Peter will do very well as her servant,” Dana comments, watching the visitor as she walks into the village. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>As the previous Chosen, their visitor has survived their fifty-year term as Her servant. It is not out of the ordinary- She feeds Her servants well and ensures their safety. Still, there are rare occasions when She must come down from the mountain personally, Her servant having expired before the end of their term. This is not one of those, however. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The visitor speaks with the village elders for a bit, glancing over towards the gathered crowd every so often. After what seems like a decades long conversation, the visitor turns to the crowd. “Hello, I am Evelyn. I am sixty-eight years old. I was Chosen fifty years ago. Now, it’s time to select a new Chosen. The Elders have spoken. Peter Parker, please step forward.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>A murmur goes through the crowd as May watches her nephew do as he’s told. Peter’s shaking with fear, but the other teens seem very relieved to not be Chosen. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Peter Parker, state your age.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am seventeen, ma’am.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Peter Parker, you have been Chosen by your village to serve Her. This is a great honor.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes ma’am, the honor is greater than the size of the sun,” Peter echoes, bowing his head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Peter Parker, you have one living relative. The village elders have selected your aunt to be an Elder. Do not fear leaving her behind. The village will take care of her. Come forward to receive your gifts.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Peter approaches the center of the square, taking a seat with the Elders. May didn’t realize they had selected her to be an Elder, but she won’t complain about it. Being an Elder is a high honor, second only to being Chosen. It means she’s part of the village government, responsible for looking out for everyone in the village.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Peter Parker, we will present your gifts to you, and then load them into the cart you will bring up the mountain.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes ma’am,” Peter agrees. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>One by one, the heads of household from the village come forward to present Peter with a gift. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Peter, the Pullen family presents you with Karen, a fine, well-trained six-year-old mare,” Avery Pullen comes forward, leading a beautiful black mare with shiny fur forward. Peter holds out his hand, and the mare allows him to pet her nose, nudging him gently. An instant connection. Good. Avery leads the mare to the cart where he ties her loosely. She lacks a saddle or saddle blanket, but those will come from other villagers. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Peter, the Miller family presents you with one hundred pounds of flour.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Peter, the Baker family presents you with this cast iron oven and our recipe for honey cakes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Peter, the Cartwright family presents you with the cart.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Peter, the Chandler family presents you with many candles, to illuminate your nights and keep the time for you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Peter, the Bikker family presents you with this honey, to sweeten your foods.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Peter, the Fuller family presents you with these blankets, to keep you warm.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Peter, the Webster family presents you with these garments to keep you warm.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Peter, our family presents you with a barrel of dried meats.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Peter, the Tanner family and the Saddler family jointly present you with this saddle.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Peter, the Smith family presents you with the horseshoes on your horse and the bit in her mouth.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Peter,” May comes forward, carrying her basket. “I present you with this cloak,” she pulls the cloak out of her basket, wrapping it around his shoulders and wiping the tears from his face. “And this saddle blanket.” She wraps him up in her arms, patting the knife hidden in the cloak. “Ben wanted you to have this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>When May steps away, the Ealdorman comes forward and announces, “Let us feast!” To which, the village cheers. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>As they feast, villagers continue to pile supplies and gifts into Peter’s cart. When he finishes eating, the Saddlers’ oldest girl, Elisabeth, teaches him how to tack his horse and care for her. The villagers dance and drink into the night; by the next morning, the entire village is hungover. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>May wakes him up late in the afternoon the day after the Choosing ceremony. She helps him comb his hair and pack his few belongings into the little room left in the cart. After his aunt is done helping him, the Ealdorman shows Peter how to hook the horse up to the cart and steer. When Peter and the Earldorman are done, it’s time to set off on the path up the mountain, alone. May watches nervously until Peter and the cart disappear </span>
  <span> into the forest, then turns around, going back inside to spin the roving she gained yesterday, quelling her anxiety with the repetitive task.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Mountain</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Peter’s journey up the mountain takes him all of six hours. His mare is strong and swift; even with the heavy cart, she makes great time. Karen is an exceptionally good companion. She follows his directions and seems eager to please. Along his journey, Peter finds a cat in the cart who sleeps next to him in the sunlight on the seat. He also finds a dog who naps in the shady back of the cart. The route is even and well-maintained. It’s wide enough for the cart to traverse with ease and flat enough to allow him to have no worries about the difficulty of Karen’s task. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Peter hesitates as the cart reaches the cave entrance at the end of the path. He has no idea what he’s doing. For all he knows, he has brought these expensive things here only to waste them when he gets eaten. But a feminine voice calls him. “Peter, come in,” it beckons, and the entrance illuminates with green torches, flickering with a magical fire. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yah, Karen,” Peter orders, and Karen walks on into the cavern. She stops when she reaches a great cavern carved out of the stone and illuminated by a skylight. In the center there’s green dragon, almost the size of the house he shared with May, sitting up and observing Peter. “So, you are your village’s offering this cycle,” the dragon muses. “Evelyn says you show much promise. I hope that you live up to her praises.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Peter stays stock-still. This is a predator. An extremely deadly, easily provoked giant predator. When he realizes she must be waiting for him to speak, he opens his mouth to say, “Yes ma’am, I will try my best.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hm. Ma’am. None of the previous Chosen have called me that. I like it. Address me like that from now on. Get down from your cart and begin unloading your belongings. Your horse may live in the paddock outside during the day and in the modest stall near the mouth of the cave during the night. Be careful that you bring her in <em>every </em>night. There should be enough grain to feed her stored in the chamber near the stall; tell me if there isn’t enough grain, I’ll find some. You may allow your smaller animals to live in your quarters, which you can find through that door,” the dragon lifts one of her feet to point with a sharp talon at the door. “The woods outside have many predators that are dangerous to cats and dogs. Do not let the kitten leave this cave or she will die. I will show you how to close the doors to the entrance. The puppy, you must train him to only relieve himself in designated areas, and you must train him to always be at your heel. If you do not know how, I will direct you. Do not allow him to wonder freely. I only permit him to do so within your quarters. I do <em>not </em>need him getting into something he shouldn’t and poisoning himself.” The dragon shakes her head, like she’s remembering a previous pet’s fate, “When you have put everything away, you may come back into this room. Then, we will discuss your responsibilities.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Okay. The terrifying dragon is giving him directions. That’s fine. He can follow them. First, he takes Karen outside to the paddock. Then, he puts her tack away in the room next to her stall. He puts away her saddle, the saddle blanket May gave him, and any other horse-related gifts he can see in the cart. After, he follows the dragon’s directions for closing the entrance to the cave, so his cat cannot escape and get eaten. The dragon offers the kitten a small ball of yarn that has become felted, and she chases it around the main cavern. Peter laughs a little, already warming up to the giant creature who now oversees his life. She is quite kind for a born predator. Fishing the puppy out of the back of the cart, he holds it close, considering what name would suit it. After a moment, he asks the dragon. “Ma’am, what names should I give them?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The dragon looks over at him from where she’s playing ‘bat the yarn back and forth’ with the kitten. “He seems like a Jack to me. As for the kitten, perhaps she would suit the name Bea.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Jack and Bea?” Peter looks at the puppy in his arms, then the kitten attempting to climb the dragon’s scales. “Yeah, those seem right,” he agrees after a moment. “Alright, Jack, let’s go check out my quarters,” he concludes, after a moment of watching how gentle the dragon is with Bea. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He opens the door the dragon showed him earlier, only to be surprised as he walks into a small, well organized kitchen. In the center there’s a water pump, with a bucket underneath the spout. Stone counters line the walls, carved into the room. The exception is the left wall which has an enormous fireplace containing flickering green fire, a collection of many pots and pans, and a big oven for baking. Along the right wall there’s a counter with a sharp set of knives and an enormous basket of exotic looking fruits on top. A washbasin is carved into the far end of the counter. There’s also a door which is open to reveal a storage space similar to a cellar full of food. Okay, so that is where he’ll bring all the foods the village gifted him. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He walks through the archway on the far wall, into a large bedroom with the softest looking bed he’s ever seen. But before he can step onto the softest furs he’s ever seen on the floors, the dragon’s voice comes into his mind. “Take off your shoes and wash your feet before you ruin those furs,” she instructs him. Oh. Right. Peter glances about the room, seeing a short shelf which must be for shoes. He sits, taking them off, then goes back into the kitchen and fills the bucket up, washing his feet over the drain in the center of the kitchen. He walks barefoot across the pristine floor into the bedroom, setting the puppy down on the bed. “Pick up the furs. Hang them on the racks on your right, so the puppy doesn’t ruin them while you’re still training him,” the dragon instructs him again, so Peter does that too. The bedroom is illuminated by a large window to outside the mountain, a breeze coming in from outside despite the iron mesh that covers the window. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Opposite the bed, the left wall has some bookshelves lined with more books than Peter’s ever seen. Near the bed on the right wall, there’s a second fireplace, heated with the same green fire from the kitchen. Past the bed, there’s another door, but he’s seen enough to start putting things away. When he’s done marveling at the collection of books, Peter leaves the room to bring things in. First, he puts away all the food items, then putting his blankets on the foot of the bed and his knitting project on the windowsill. He puts his spare clothes in the empty trunk at the end of the bed, and the yarn May sent him with goes on the windowsill. His candles, the trunk they came in goes on the far wall, under the window. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>When he’s done putting everything away, he moves the empty cart to the entrance of the cave, putting it off to one side so it isn’t in the way. Then, he brings Karen in for the day, combing her and picking her hooves, feeding her the grain left in the storage room.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Finally, he joins the dragon in the main cavern, looking up at her. “I’m done for the day, ma’am,” he informs her, climbing up to a cramped nook high in one of the cavern walls and sitting on the edge. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Have you eaten today, Peter?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I ate a snack on the path up.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You will need to eat before you go to sleep tonight. There are many things in the pantry. You are welcome to whatever foods you wish to eat. Evelyn made sure it was well-stocked for you before she retired. The water from the pump is drinkable, as it’s boiled, filtered, and rapidly cooled before it flows up and out of the spout. I’ve spent many, many centuries ensuring the cave’s as comfortable as possible for all its inhabitants.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes ma’am, I understand,” Peter nods. “Ma’am, why am I here?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The dragon tilts her head, considering him for a moment, before she lays down, resting her head on her front legs. “Peter, you are here to be my assistant,” she explains. “You will assist me in procuring books and knowledge, and in exchange, I will protect your village and its inhabitants from those who may wish to harm it. I will also teach you to read, write, do advanced calculations, and many more things. For I do not hoard wealth, but knowledge. Your job, simply put, is expanding my hoard.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh. So I’m not here for you to eat me?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Dragons, of course, cannot physically laugh. They also cannot physically speak, but instead do so by projecting their voice into the head of whoever they are speaking to. They do the same when they’re laughing, of course. And right now, she seems to be laughing at him. “Peter, if I wanted to eat you, I would have done so while you still lived in your village. I wouldn’t have wasted your time and energy having you come all the way up the mountain,” the dragon tells him, amused chuckles filling his head. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Peter feels his cheeks turning red, but he still comes closer to the dragon, asking, “how are you going to teach me to read if you don’t have hands?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“That is simple. I can trace them out on the ground and have you copy them.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, okay.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I will first start with teaching you the letters of the Latin alphabet, and then you will learn how to use them to form words and words to form sentences. I have many books written to teach others how to read, and I will have you use those. When you get something wrong, I’ll say the correct version and you will remember this correction. It will not be too hard for someone as smart as you. I am confident it shouldn’t take you longer than a week to learn your letters and what sounds they make.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You said to address you as ma’am, but what is your name?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“In time, you may earn the right to call me by my true name. For now, continue to use ma’am. If you must think of me as some name, you may call me Michelle in your head.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes ma’am.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Very good. Go make yourself some food, then sleep. Tomorrow we will begin your first lesson.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>don't look at me I don't know what this is or why it's taken over my mind</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Writing? that shit is hard, man</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Peter’s night is very uneventful. After marvelling at the kitchen’s beauty for a while, he boils some dried meat he was sent with with the potatoes and carrots that he finds in the pantry. When he’s done slurping down his stew, he gives the rest to Jack, and puts a bowl down with water. </p><p> </p><p>Peter figures out that the other door in his bedroom leads to a room with a big washtub, big enough for him to bathe in it. It has two pumps next to it, one with flames painted on it and one with ice crystals. Okay, so it has hot and cold water. There is also a big mirror over another counter, similar to the ones in the kitchen. On the counter, there’s a basin and some different soaps, and underneath, in the cabinets, there are soft fabrics he only assumes are for drying off. Through another door, there’s a place for him to relieve himself. He uses the cold water pump and a bucket to fill the basin on the counter, then uses the soap to wash his hands and face and feet. </p><p> </p><p>Changing out of his clothes, dirty from his journey, he fills the tub with hot water after plugging the drain and washes them as best he can, then hangs them to dry over the side and uses a fabric from the cabinets to dry his arms. </p><p> </p><p>When he catches the puppy sniffing around as he walks back into the bedroom, Peter opens up the mesh covering the window, pleased to find that it actually opens up into a small garden on a terrace carved into the mountainside, surrounded by a wooden fence. It isn’t visible from the village, so it must be on the far side of the mountain, or hidden from view. He quickly puts Jack down, then goes back inside to get a blanket to cover himself. This high, it’s far colder at night than it is in the village. </p><p> </p><p>When he goes to retrieve Jack, he gets to watch as Michelle soars out of the skylight in the main cavern, flying out into the night. Woah. Her wings are as wide as the village square. She is certainly a formidable boss.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, after bringing Jack back inside, Peter closes the window’s mesh and closes the shutters to prevent the cold wind from coming in, then lays down in the bed. It’s the softest thing he has ever laid on, and he is asleep in seconds.<br/><br/>The morning is similarly uneventful. After he’s woken up by the sunlight creeping in through the cracks in the shutters, he pulls the fine clothes the Websters had gifted him from his trunk and puts them on, then tries his luck with the apples in the basket. He feeds Jack some dried meat, makes sure his water bowl is full, then lets Jack outside to pee. After letting Karen out into her paddock, he decides it’s time to face the dragon and her lessons. </p><p> </p><p>Surprisingly, though, letters aren’t that hard to learn. Michelle traces large letters out on the floor of the cavern, using her sharp talons, and Peter simply repeats them back to her. By the end of their first hour of lessons, Peter’s memorized the whole ‘alphabet,’ and is making good progress of memorizing the sounds each letter makes. By hour three, they’ve moved onto phonemes, and soon, she’s having him learn how to write out letters by himself, instructing him on how to use a ‘pencil’ and write on ‘paper.’ She explains that most humans still write using quills, ink, and parchment or vellum, but that dragons and their human companions have invented far more ways to create written works.</p><p> </p><p>Soon, Peter’s learned how to write his name, the names of everyone he knows in his village, and, after a few days, Michelle has helped him compose a letter to Aunt May. She promises it will get delivered, and that Evelyn will read it to May, and teach May the same things Michelle has taught Peter. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Dear Aunt May,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I have learned how to write. The dragon is very nice and is teaching me. My new bed is so soft. I have a big kitchen too. The dragon says that I can visit you sun soon. I have to learn how to read and write in Draconic first. She says if I can read and write, I can learn anything. I love you so much. I hope to see you sun soon.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>-Peter</em>
</p><p>
  <em>look, I can write my name</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Michelle has Peter strap the letter to her leg.</p><p>The next day, she has him retrieve a small book from her huge library, in a cavern bigger than even the main cavern. Luckily, this book is right at the front, in a group likely prepared by Evelyn before he got there. He brings it back, and the dragon has him sit next to her head, holding the book where she can see it while he reads it to her. It’s a short story that he’s very familiar with, the fable of the tortoise and the hare. He stumbles through it with the grace of a donkey, but at the end, the dragon gives him a little nudge. “Good job, Peter,” she praises him. “What do you think the moral of the story was?” she asks him, making him not only think about how the letters formed words, but what the words actually meant. We love teaching reading comprehension in this house (cave). </p><p> </p><p>“Well, sometimes being the fastest at something doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll win at that thing. It’s easy to burn out, and so then the person who might have been going slow and steady will win instead,” Peter hypothesizes, which earns a reward of another nudge. </p><p> </p><p>“Go put it away, and then you can go have some free time. I suggest you tend to the garden outside your bedroom, as the weeds have become rather unruly, but you may do as you wish. If you would prefer to practice reading or knit instead, those are also fine activities. Don’t forget to let Karen back in.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes ma’am,” Peter agrees, putting the book away in her library before he goes back to his own room. Once he’s made sure Jack’s water bowl is full and has let him out again, he changes into his old clothes and starts weeding. It’s hard work, but by the end, the compost pile has nearly quintupled in size. </p><p> </p><p>When he’s done, he gets a piece of paper and begins writing a list of the plants he can identify that are already in the garden, and a list of plants he would like to have in the garden that he doesn’t see there. When he doesn’t know how to even try to spell a plant’s name, he draws the fruit or flower it has from his memory instead. His list is rather long by the time he’s done, and the sun has set. He goes inside to see if Michelle has any input, but she isn’t in the main cavern, so after looking in the library, he sets his list down on the desk she’s put in the main cavern for him and goes to bring Karen in and feed her. Then, he goes to his kitchen and starts getting the ingredients out for the honey cake recipe he was given. There’s a baker’s balance scale in the cabinet along with a set of weights, and now he’s learned how to read, so it’s easy to read and follow the recipe. </p><p> </p><p>Michelle was right. If you learn how to read, you can learn anything. Peter makes some rather delicious honey cakes, and they’re his dinner that he sits down to eat while reading a book from the bookshelves in his bedroom.</p><p> </p><p>A few weeks in, he’s worked his way through his bookshelves, and the next one he pulls out to read at night, after a morning lesson and an afternoon of laboring, is about ‘human biology,’ and it teaches him all about how humans work. It’s absolutely fascinating, and Peter loses track of time as he devours (not literally, of course) the pages. Some words are a little hard to understand and pronounce, so he writes those down along with the words next to them that seem to define them on a separate piece of paper, which soon turns into many pieces of paper, so he can ask Michelle about them in the morning.</p><p> </p><p>Is this topic probably too advanced for someone who just learned how to read? Probably, but Peter is ambitious and a fucking nerd. Of course, eventually, the whoosh of wings in the middle of the night signal that Michelle has returned from wherever she was, and a few moments later, her voice echoes in his head. “Peter, it’s very late, you need to rest. We still have many lessons to return to tomorrow.”</p><p> </p><p>Peter sighs, leaning over to blow out his candle, using the torchlight to find his way to the washroom and washing the dirt off of his body. When he’s clean, he returns to the bed, falling asleep almost the moment his head hits the pillows. <br/><br/><br/></p><p>A collection of letters from Peter and May</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>My dear Peter,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I hope this letter finds you well. Evelyn is writing it for me, as she has only just begun teaching me to write. I miss you dearly. I look forward so much to your visit. Please write before you visit so I can prepare the loft for you. How are your new pets doing? Are they behaving well? What have you named them? Are you eating enough?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Love,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>May</em>
</p><p> </p><ul>
<li>
<p><em>May wrote her name herself! I’m so proud of her. You have a very smart Aunt, Peter. -Evelyn.</em></p>
</li>
</ul><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Dear May,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The dragon has started teaching me how to spell words in Dragon Standardized English (DSE). She says that soon, I will be ready to learn the Draconic alphabet as well! We have also started learning about punctuation marks and grammar in DSE. I am really enjoying reading. There are so many books here, it’s like I can learn anything if I know the language it’s written in. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>She helped me name the animals. The puppy is Jack, and the kitten is Bea. The dragon enjoys playing with them. She has taught Jack how to fetch and she has taught Bea how to play with yarn balls. It is interesting to watch such a big creature bat around a tiny ball of yarn for a kitten. Jack is learning how to only relieve himself outdoors and how to ‘heel.’ Overall, they are very well behaved, although Bea has a tendency to bring mice she’s killed to the dragon instead of me. I think she likes the dragon more than me. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>With Love,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Peter</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>My dear Peter,<br/>I have begun learning how to spell too. It is hard, but Evelyn is a very good teacher. I am writing this letter on my own, as Evelyn is out of town for the next few days. Dragon Standardized English is a very interesting thing to learn. Evelyn has loaned me her dictionary, so I can look up words while she is gone. She is such a smart woman. I am sure that you are going to know just as much as she does when you are done serving the dragon. With such a vast library, I am certain you will have no shortage of knowledge to collect. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I am sending a sweater for you, as Evelyn says it can get chilly at the top of the mountain. Please let me know if there are any supplies you need, I will do my best to send them to you when I can. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Love, </em>
</p><p>
  <em>May.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Dear May, </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I am coming to visit you in four days from when you receive this. Thank you for the sweater.  I have begun learning Draconic, and the dragon needs supplies from the village. Did you know that the body has many different parts? And that the dragons have named and analyzed each part, carefully documenting how everything works? Our blood is made of tiny things called red blood cells, which carry air necessary for our bodies to create the energy we need to live from our lungs to the rest of our bodies. I am learning so much about how we work as a species. The dragon has also begun teaching me chemistry. Did you know that her fire is green because copper sulfate burns green? </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I can’t believe there are so many things humanity doesn’t know. It would be so cool to teach more people about all of this, but the dragon says that not all humans who know of the way the world works use their knowledge for good. She told me that there have been humans that created terrible weapons from their knowledge, and that dragons vowed that humanity would need to learn all of this, by itself, through humans’ own research. The dragons do not want humanity to use knowledge that they have collected or labor that they have performed to create weapons of mass destruction because they do not want to be responsible for the end of the world.  I think knowledge is good for knowledge’s sake, but the dragon disagrees. Since she is my teacher, I suppose I must listen to her wishes. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I love you so much,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Peter</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Dear Peter,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I can see why the dragons would fear humanity acquiring their knowledge. One day, we will probably fulfill their fears of the world ending because of our mistakes. I look forward to your visit, but I have little to report from the village.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Love, </em>
</p><p>
  <em>May</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Dear May,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I very much enjoyed visiting with you. Thank you for the yarn and the pants. The dragon is sending me on a journey to a city. It has been so long since I have visited a city, I’m not sure I’m ready to be in a place with so many people at once. She says she will keep watch over me while I’m there, but that she cannot enter the city herself. I am supposed to get supplies for winter and new seeds for my garden, and some books from a trader in a language called Arabic. I will wait there until the trader is back in the city, and then I will buy every book he has. She will teach me how to read them when I get back to the mountain. This is my first real task, and I am nervous.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I will probably not receive your next letter until I get back from the city.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I love you,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Peter. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Dear Peter,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I am so proud of you. Speaking of supplies for the winter, the Tanners have given me the gloves attached to the letter for you, as well as the boots. I am also sending a sweater for Jack and a sweater for Bea. I would send one for the dragon too, but I do not think there is enough yarn in the entire village to make one that would fit her. Please tell your teacher I send my regards. Good luck in the city!<br/>Love,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>May</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Dear May, </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Thank the Tanners for the gloves and boots for me. Jack loves his sweater, but getting Bea’s on was a nightmare. She shredded my arms. The dragon had to instruct me on how to wash them and bandage them with antibiotic ointment correctly. She fears that Bea’s scratches could give me a fever. We hope that they don’t. After Bea’s sweater was on, she actually rather liked it. The dragon says that if you send another sweater for me, she will pretend it is for her instead. I know dye is expensive, but she’s requested green to match her scales. She has given me one to send with this letter so you can match the color. Did you know that dragons are cold-blooded, but because they possess Fire, they can warm themselves from the inside? </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Love,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Peter</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Dear Peter,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I hope the attached sweater lives up to her expectations. Evelyn says that it is a great honor to receive a dragon’s scale. Liz Saddler has become my new apprentice, and she is doing rather well learning how to spin. Not much else to report from the village.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Love, </em>
</p><p>
  <em>May. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Dear May,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The dragon loves the sweater.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>There was a girl here today, she was in the bathing pools the dragon uses deeper in the cave. And it was raining outside, and, well, she didn’t have any dry clothes. I ended up giving her my spare cloak and some old clothes and rushing her out of the cave as quickly as possible, because I didn’t want to find out what would happen if the dragon found her. I fear she would have gotten eaten. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I saw the dragon eat someone a week ago, when we went to another city to check out the library there. Someone tried to shoot her with an arrow, so she swooped down while I was on her back and ate them. It was terrifying. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I miss you so much,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Peter<br/><br/><br/></em>
</p><p>
  <em>Dear Peter,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I’m sorry you had to see that. I miss you too. I hope your girl got away before the dragon saw her!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Love,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>May</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>May,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I have some bad news. After I wrote that letter, the dragon came through the skylight holding the clothes. And she had blood on her teeth. I asked her if she ate the girl. She said she did. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I don’t know what to do, </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Peter.</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>uh, i promise the girl-eating will come up in the future</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. A visit to May's, and a VisitOR in the Garden</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>howdy sometimes i forget that this exists until ao3 emails me w a comment so.... sorry</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In the fall, many of the things Peter planted in the summer begin to ripen, and so instead of spending his days learning as he has done all summer, he spends them laboring in his garden. On Wednesdays, after doing any chores Michelle requests of him and tending to his gardens, he starts visiting May routinely, once a week, and heads home early on the following Thursdays, so he can be back before the sun sets and be able to tend to his garden and do chores for the rest of the day. On one such Wednesday, he’s tacking up Karen to get ready to leave when Michelle asks him, “Peter, while you’re out, can you make a note of any issues with the path to your village? I want to make sure it gets fixed up before winter sets in.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, sure,” Peter agrees, leading Karen outside. He checks his saddle bags, making sure he has enough water to get there, and then he ties her to the fence of the paddock, jogging back inside to pick up a notebook and pencil to take with him. Once he has all the supplies he needs, he picks up his puppy and heads out, getting on Karen’s back with Jack in his lap and beginning the long journey down the mountain. </p><p> </p><p>By the time he gets to his village, the sun is just barely setting, so he drops Karen off with the stable master and picks up soup from the inn on his way to May’s house. When he knocks on the door, May lets him in, and, to no one’s surprise, Evelyn is there too. Peter smiles warmly at both of them, setting the tray of soups he picked up down on the table and taking a seat, letting Jack sit under his feet while they eat. After dinner, Peter puts the scraps into one bowl and puts it on the floor near the table, so Jack can eat too. </p><p> </p><p>Now, he’s not surprised Evelyn is there for a few reasons. For one, May and Evelyn have been getting quite close over the last few months, as Eve has been teaching May how to read. For another, Eve doesn’t really have a place of her own in town, and May has a policy of allowing no one in town to be without a home, even if it means giving up her own bed and comfort and privacy. At least, that’s been his reasoning for the last few visits. But today, there’s something else in the way May and Eve talk to each other. As he eats his soup, he concludes that they’re more than just roommates. </p><p> </p><p>This conclusion is reached for three reasons. First, May’s bed has two indents, instead of just one. Second, May can’t keep her eyes off of Eve, and vice versa. Third, and probably the thing that really tips Peter off, is when Eve reaches over and tucks some of May’s hair behind her ears. Wow. Peter didn’t know that May liked older women. He files this new information that May and Eve are more than just roommates under the category, ‘none of my business, May will tell me when she’s ready.’ </p><p> </p><p>After they eat dinner, May suggests that they play a new card game using a deck of cards she got as a gift the other day. After taking the time to learn the rules, the three of them play. At first, May is kicking both Peter and Eve’s asses, but soon, Peter figures out how to count cards, and, well, all bets are off for Eve and May. Once Peter wins once, he doesn’t stop, at least that night. Eventually, though, when the candles are burning low, it’s time for bed. After letting the dog out, Peter climbs with one arm around the puppy up to the loft, and May and Eve climb into their bed and- yeah, good for May. </p><p> </p><p>In the morning, Peter helps May with some of her duties as a village council-member, going door to door to meet with the people and see what people need the village to provide this winter. A few families need more food supplies, as they weren’t able to get enough of their own, and a few families say their children have our-grown their good shoes, so they need shoes for the winter, and a few say that their warm clothes are too worn to provide any warmth anymore. So, when he gets back to May’s, together they sit down and make a plan to get everyone what they need. </p><p> </p><p>What they come up with is this: the village will pool their excess food supplies, and then anyone who needs food may get what they need from the pool. Similarly, for shoes, families can give away the shoes their children have outgrown to a shoe pool, and those in need can get what they need from that pool. And then finally, for clothing, not only will they host a drive to collect clothing, but May and anyone else who knows how to create warm clothing will work on getting everyone squared away for the winter. If the village doesn’t have enough supplies for everyone, they’ll sell what they have to to buy from neighboring towns, or request charity from the dragon. It seems like a good plan, and they have plenty of time til winter, so hopefully, they’ll prevent anyone from starving or dying of cold this winter. </p><p> </p><p>When he and May are finished, he goes with her to get the approval from the rest of the council of elders, and they part ways after her plan has gotten approval. Peter picks up his horse from the stable, and together, he and Karen make their way up the mountain. By the time he, Jack, and Karen get home and he’s taken off all her tack, and he’s groomed her, it’s well past sunset. He feeds her, then he goes to check on the cat. Bea, as usual, is perfectly fine- Michelle indulges her and allows her to kill the various rodents that inhabit the mountain, which has rounded her out around the ribs, and she purrs a little louder.  He makes sure she doesn’t have any wounds from bites from rodents and he brushes her. After feeding Jack and putting water out, Peter goes to find a book and settle down in the main cavern by the fire in the big, comfy chair next to it. Eventually, Michelle tells him, “Peter, go to sleep,” and he has to comply sluggishly, making his way back to his quarters and falling asleep before he’s even gotten under the blankets on the bed. </p><p> </p><p>The next morning, he’s awakened rather late by Jack barking at the window, and he forces himself out of bed, putting on his gardening pants before he opens up the window to let Jack out. He’s shocked to see a woman in the garden, harvesting his plants, and after setting Jack down, he asks, “Hey, what are you doing here? Wait, I’ve seen you before. You were in the pools. I thought- but the dragon- the dragon said she ate you! Still, you can’t be here, she could come back at any time and actually eat you. Unless you’re a ghost. Are you a ghost?”</p><p>But instead of running like a reasonable person would at the threat of being eaten by a dragon, the woman looks up at him from where she’d been digging potatoes up and laughs. “I’m not a ghost, and I won’t get eaten while the dragon is away, silly,” she rolls her eyes. “I saw her fly away early this morning. She went over the horizon line, so I doubt she’s coming back within the next few days. I’ve watched her my whole life from my village, I know how she moves.”</p><p> </p><p>“I- so why are you in my garden, then? What’s your name?”<br/><br/></p><p>“My friends call me MJ. I was friends with the last owner of this garden, Evelyn, since I was young. She came to my village to trade and teach us to read and write. I assume she’s finally retired now?”<br/><br/></p><p>“Oh. Yeah, she lives in my village with my aunt, now. If you follow the path down the mountain and go right at the fork when you get to the base, you’ll get to the village. My aunt is May, she’s a village elder. Um, are we friends, then? Can I call you MJ?”</p><p> </p><p>The woman smiles at him, seeming amused. “Yeah, we’re friends. Do you often give pretty girls directions to your village?” She asks him, tucking short curls of red hair behind her ear as she watches him. Her eyes flicker up and down his body, and Peter gets the distinct feeling of being checked out. </p><p> </p><p>“I- um- no, I don’t really talk to very many people very often,” Peter shakes his head, watching with a slight amount of anxiety when Jack jumps up on her, getting his muddy paws on her skirt. </p><p> </p><p>But instead of getting upset, MJ just picks him up, laughing and rubbing his belly. “What’s this guy’s name?” She asks Peter, picking up the basket of the things she’s harvested so far and bringing it over to his window, setting it down inside on the windowsill. </p><p> </p><p>“Um, he’s Jack. I’m Peter. Um, I’m starving, so, um, would you like breakfast?”</p><p>“I would love breakfast, Peter Starving,” MJ smiles at him, and follows him inside his room, taking off her shoes without having to be told and washing Jack’s paws off in Peter’s washroom before she joins him in the kitchen, sitting on the counter while she watches Peter get the ingredients for honey cakes. It’s obvious she’s been in the dwelling before, though never with him. He adds chunks of the green apples she’d harvested to them, and then puts them in the oven to bake, heated by Michelle’s fire. </p><p> </p><p>“I- Uh- so, you’ve been here before,” he asks, lighting a candle as a timer and setting it down on the counter. </p><p> </p><p>“Yes, Evelyn would often bring me back here during the winter during the dragon’s longer trips and teach me how to garden and bake and analyze the plants with her microscope. She was a good teacher, and I learned a lot of how the world works. I’ve only met the dragon twice, but once was when she burned down the house of the man who slapped Evelyn for teaching girls how to read when she came to visit us, and once was when Evelyn’s boyfriend in our village died, and the dragon came to the burial.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh,” Peter nods, “Can you show me how to use the microscope too?”</p><p>“Of course. I’ll see if I can find where she hid it away,” MJ smiles at him, leaving the kitchen to go look for it. Well. ‘Look’ for it. When she ‘finds’ it, she returns to Peter’s kitchen, and they take an onion with them to look at under the microscope. It’s an effective way to learn about cells and how they work, and MJ spends the whole morning showing him how to use the antiquated piece of machinery, telling him all about how cells work and how they divide and reproduce. She also may or may not have spent the whole morning making stupid puns about reproduction and biology, flirting back and forth with him. </p><p> </p><p>Of course, MJ’s blatant flirting can only get her so far. When she tries, “Are you a concentration gradient? Because I’d love to go down on you” on him, he just looks like a confused puppy. </p><p> </p><p>“What does ‘go down’ mean?” Peter asks, his eyebrows knitting together. </p><p> </p><p>“Uh-” MJ sighs. Peter’s not exactly sure what he’s done to disappoint her like this, but her whole body deflates a little as she frowns. “Going down on someone is typically a nicer way to say having oral sex with them,” she explains, not looking him in the eyes. </p><p> </p><p>“OH.” Peter nods, his cheeks heating up. He’s sure they’re bright red as he stutters, “I- Um, I wouldn’t... I wouldn’t know.”</p><p> </p><p>“Why wouldn’t you know?”</p><p> </p><p> “Uh. Oh. Um. I’ve never, uh, had sex before.”</p><p>“Really? Never?” MJ raises her eyebrows, looking up at him again, “are there no pretty girls in the village?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, um, there are, but they, uh, they don’t really- no one has ever gone out with me, before.”</p><p>“No one? Are you sure?”</p><p>“Well, I was going to ask Liz, before I got Chosen,” he admits. “But then I was, so I never really got a chance.”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you still want to ask her?”</p><p> </p><p>“No, uh- not now.” He shakes his head. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh? Have you got someone else in mind, then?”</p><p>“Um, well, yeah, there’s someone,” Peter admits, blushing more. </p><p> </p><p>“Someone? If you went out with this someone, what would you do?”</p><p>“Well, um, I’d show her all my favorite books, and, um, teach her my honey cake recipe, and I’d let her read to me, and, um, I’d read to her, and we’d garden together, and we’d go on walks in the forest together, and… I don’t know. It’s not really that realistic for me to want to date anyone, anyway. I don’t think my boss would really approve.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, but, hypothetically, if your boss didn’t care, who would this person be?”</p><p> </p><p>Peter looks at her, trying to work up the nerve to tell her it’s her. That all morning, as she’s been teaching him all about how cells work, all he’s been able to think about is having her talk to him forever. </p><p> </p><p>“Come on, I won’t judge you,” MJ prompts him.</p><p><br/>Peter swallows nervously. “Um, if I were to date someone, it would be you,” he admits.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, so you think I’m pretty enough to date?” MJ teases him, “Prettier than Liz?”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course you’re prettier than Liz. You’re ethereal, MJ.”</p><p>“Ethereal, huh? That’s a big word. Did the dragon teach you that?” </p><p> </p><p>“I read it in one of her books,” Peter shrugs, reaching out to touch MJ’s cheek. When she leans into his hand, he smiles widely at her. </p><p> </p><p>“Do you want to kiss me, Peter?” MJ asks him, stepping closer to him. </p><p> </p><p>“More than anything in the world,” he admits, and he’s rewarded by the prettiest girl to ever exist pressing her lips against his, pushing him up against the wall and kissing him until he has to pull away for air, panting. She mutters something in his ear about kissing on his bed, and so they move as quickly as possible to his room. </p><p> </p><p>They don’t leave his quarters for days, during which he learns many more euphemisms and discovers he really is a hands-on learner, except to finish up his chores each day. Finally, on the fourth day, MJ comes in from the garden while he’s making breakfast, telling him, “Peter, I have to go, the dragon is coming back, I saw her over the horizon. Can I come back when she leaves again?”</p><p> </p><p>“Please,” Peter agrees, kissing her goodbye and letting her out the garden gate, watching her follow the path until the path disappears into the forest. After, he sprints inside, throwing his sheets and blankets into the washtub to wash, then going to scrub the kitchen, the lab MJ showed him, and any other areas the dragon might smell her in. Then, he goes back to the washtub, hastily washing his bedding with water as hot as possible, hanging it on the laundry lines in the garden. Then, to cover up the fact that he’s cleaning to hide the fact that he had another human here, he mops his room, then the kitchen, then finally, he sweeps the main cavern. While he’s cleaning, he also mucks out Karen’s stall and changes her hay, then starts organizing, because now he’s focused on cleaning. By the time the dragon climbs in through the skylight, he’s put away all the books he’s gotten out in the library, he’s dusted the entire lab, he’s laid new furs down in the dragon’s favorite sleeping spot, he’s cleaned the old ones and hung them to dry after brushing them out, and he’s laying in one of his favorite nooks in the cavern, reading casually to create the illusion that he’s been relaxing all week. </p><p><br/>“Have a good few days off, Peter?” Michelle asks him, looking up at him from the cavern floor, where she’s curled up on her furs. “Oh, are these new- wait a second, did you <em>clean</em>? Wow, I’m impressed. I didn’t even have to ask you. Good job, Peter. You can give yourself a bonus in your personal allowance next time you go out to the city.”</p><p> </p><p>“I can? Does that mean I can stay at a better inn?” </p><p> </p><p>“It means you can spend it on whatever you wish, after you’ve bought all our supplies and any books I don’t already have.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, ma’am. How was your trip?”</p><p> </p><p>“Relatively unproductive. I fear I must go on another trip soon. I don’t think this issue is something that can be resolved in a few trips, either. It’ll probably be a recurring issue.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh,” Peter nods. “During the winter, though? What if the fires go out without you here?” </p><p> </p><p>“They won’t,” Michelle’s laughter fills his head. “But if they do, there’s chopped wood in your pantry, and you can use the axe in the tool shed in the garden to go get more. The rest of the cave would be basically uninhabitable, though. It’s heated under the floors using the same fire that fuels your fireplaces and the torches.”</p><p> </p><p>“The whole cave?” Peter asks, putting his hand on the floor underneath the fur he’s laying on. Sure enough, it’s warm. “Woah.”<br/><br/>“The whole mountain is heated by my fire, Peter,” Michelle informs him. “The caves are far more vast than you could ever imagine. Do not go venturing out alone, or you will be lost forever,” she reminds him, repeating the warning she’s given him since day three, when she found him wandering a few layers beneath this one, completely lost. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>.... so uhhhhhhhhhh.... there's gonna be an e rated outtakes fic eventually</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. A Visit Home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>As the season gets colder, Michelle’s trips grow more and more frequent, as do MJ’s visits. Soon, instead of visiting for four days once every other week, she visits for three days every week, predictably on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. They divide their time between Peter’s bed, cooking, reading together, and exploring the parts of the cave network that MJ is familiar with. </span>
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  <span>On one such weekend, MJ comes in through Peter’s garden window before he even wakes up, early in the morning before the sun has risen, taking off her shoes and placing them on the windowsill. She lets Jack out and waits for him to come back in before she puts the shutters up and draws Peter’s new curtains. She strips out of her dress and lays down with him, cuddling up and falling asleep with him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  
  <span>Peter, of course, is granted the very pleasant experience of waking up with a beautiful woman in his bed, and understandably, their morning is spent lazing in bed together, getting to know each other’s bodies. When they grow tired of those particular… activities, Peter shows MJ the blanket he’s finished knitting, wrapping it around her shoulders. </span>
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  <span>“Can you teach me how to make something like this?” MJ asks him, feeling the blanket and marvelling at how soft it is. Peter agrees, getting out his knitting needles and a skein of yarn, from one of May’s recent shipments. “First, you cast on,” he shows her, doing a demonstration row, then undoing the whole row and handing her the yarn and the needles. She has to try a few times to get it right, but soon enough, she’s cast on a row long enough to make a decent scarf. Peter teaches her how to alternate knit and purl stitches for rows, so that her work doesn’t curl too much, then he goes to start cooking brunch while she concentrates on her new task, her tongue sticking out from between her lips. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  
  <span>He has to have her put it down when brunch is ready, serving eggs and potatoes with some bacon, since Michelle recently procured some chickens for them, and introduced him to the meat cellar, which is unheated, and therefore, absolutely freezing. “MJ, how do you feel about taking a trip to my village next weekend? I could introduce you to May, and we could pick up another barrel of mead,” he offers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  
  <span>MJ contemplates his offer for a moment, before agreeing. “That sounds wonderful, Peter. I’d love to visit your village with you. Perhaps I’ll get to catch up with Evelyn as well,” she muses, taking a bite of her food after. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  
  <span>“Okay, I’ll write May about it, then,” Peter agrees, smiling at her. “Perhaps we should get a room at the inn, though,” he chuckles. “I don’t know if we can stay with May together. The house is rather small.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  
  <span>“That’s okay, I’ll bring enough money to get a room at the inn for a few days,” MJ pats his back. It only takes a few more minutes for them to both completely finish their plates, since they’d worked up quite an appetite. </span>
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  <span>When they’re finished washing up their dishes, MJ suggests they explore the library. And so, after checking that the heating is still working outside Peter’s quarters and that they don’t need to change into thick clothes to survive outside his rooms, they go to explore together. The library is vast and expansive, and extends deep into the mountain’s core. MJ is careful to keep Peter to the English level of the library, which is well-mapped and therefore her knowledge of it is easily explainable. It’s easy to find many nooks and crannies that are built for reading quietly with soft furs laid out in them, but these nooks are also great for activities like, uh, learning about anatomy from a fantastic teacher. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  
  <span>They spend that weekend, uh, ‘mapping out the library’ and ‘learning anatomy.’ And knitting. And, you know, actually sleeping. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  
  <span>The next weekend, Michelle leaves early thursday morning, soaring away towards the horizon, and that evening, MJ shows up with her own horse, a beautiful roan stallion she puts in Karen’s stall with her. Surprisingly, the horses get along rather well. They spend the night in Peter’s room, and in the morning, they pack up their horses together as quickly as possible. “Peter, do you know how to stay in your saddle while your horse is running?” MJ asks him, leading her stallion out and locking up the entrance to the cave. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No,” Peter admits, getting up in the saddle. “I’ve not practiced much with her beyond the few trips to the city I’ve been on and the few to the village.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>MJ chuckles, mounting her own horse, holding her reins carefully in one hand. “To start, it’s easier if you hold your reins like this,” she demonstrates, her other hand resting on her saddle horn. “You really need to have good leg strength and keep your thighs clamped to your saddle. Your horse is relatively young, but before she was gifted to you, she’d already won a few valley-wide races. She has a remarkably smooth gait, so I think that might have been why she was given to you. She’s fast and easy for a beginner to ride, as well as well-tempered and affectionate. I’d even say she seems loyal to you. We’re going to walk today, but while we’re in town, have your town stablemaster give you a few riding lessons.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wow. MJ sure knows a lot about horses, apparently. Or she keeps up with the horse races for some other reason. Maybe she gambles on them? No, that doesn’t seem like the MJ he knows. Peter just nods, following her as she starts her horse at a walk. It’s cold, and he has to draw his cloak closer around himself when it starts snowing lightly. When he starts shivering, three hours into their ride down the mountain, MJ takes off her own cloak and passes it to him. “Take it,” she prompts, holding it out. Too cold to protest when she wraps the dark green wool around his shoulders and pulls the hood over his face, he just manages a weak grunt. MJ, inexplicably, stays warm despite her lack of a cloak. Meanwhile, the cloak she’s layered on top of him is incredibly hot, reminding him in his cold, slightly delirious state of Michelle’s fire. Ha. It’s even green.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>MJ glances over at him every so often, until he seems to start perking up. “You doing better?” She asks him, and Peter smiles over at her. “I’m doing a lot better. Thanks, Em.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>MJ smiles back at him. “No one’s ever called me ‘Em’ before. I like it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Peter’s smile grows, and he reaches out to hold her hand. “I like you. A lot. I think- I think I love you, even.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He watches as her face goes stony and expressionless, instead of responding to him. He listens as her heartbeat quickens. That’s a little odd, that he can actually hear it. He watches her swallow nervously. Finally, after what seems like eons, MJ opens her mouth, making eye contact with him while she responds, “I think I love you too, Peter.” But why, if she loves him, are there tears in her eyes? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why are you sad, Em?” Peter asks her, glancing momentarily up ahead as they turn at the fork in the road. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not sad, I’m happy, Peter,” MJ reassures him. “I love you. I’m happy that I’ve found someone as amazing as you to be in my life.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think you’re pretty amazing too, MJ,” Peter blushes at her praises. “I also think you’re gorgeous, and smart, and kind, and considerate, and a phenomenal teacher, and a great friend,” he continues to compliment her, looking at her with hearts in his eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>MJ’s face just lights up as he continues to compliment her. Peter’s just happy he can make her happy, so he spends the rest of their trip telling her how much he loves her and all the reasons why. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>By the time they reach Peter’s village, they’re about ready to jump each other. So, after paying for their horses to be stabled, they go rent their room in the inn a little earlier than planned. It’s late afternoon by the time they make it to May’s house, holding hands like a pair of infatuated newlyweds in the honeymoon phase. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But it’s not May that open’s May’s door, but Evelyn. And Evelyn raises her eyebrows high, looking at MJ and mouthing something in a language Peter doesn’t know. Peter shakes it off, going inside to talk to May while Evelyn and MJ catch up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Inside, May and Peter talk quietly about how his life has been since he last visited. “I really love her, May,” he admits. “I think I’m going to ask her sooner rather than later. Perhaps on the spring equinox,  since it falls on a Saturday. I don’t know how we’re going to make it work, what with her only being able to come when the dragon is away. Maybe I’ll have to talk to the dragon about the possibility of letting another person live with me,” he muses, then shrugs. “But honestly, even if the dragon said no, I would still want to marry her. Every time she comes over, I learn a million new things. She’s such a good teacher, and she’s smarter than I could ever be. I’m always in awe of how much she knows about the world.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure about this, Peter? I mean, you only met this girl a few months ago, and you’ve never even been to her village. She says she’s an orphan, but she doesn’t seem particularly poor. Do you know anything of her trade or how she managed to learn it? Do you know anything of how she acquired the money for such fine dresses and cloaks?  Do you know how she managed to acquire a horse?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure, May. I don’t need to know her profession to know that she’s the one for me. She makes me feel like I’m the most important person in the room. I could spend an eternity with her and I would never be bored,” he sighs. “I don’t really care how she acquired her possessions.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, sweetheart. I’ll support you in any decision you make, you know that. I simply want you to really think this one out before you ask her, okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, May. I promise I’ll think this through,” Peter promises.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once May describes her latest project to him, Peter starts setting up her loom, and they fall into a quiet rhythm of working together. When MJ and Evelyn get back, they all have a nice hearty dinner of beef stew that Eve procured from the inn, and they talk about Peter’s latest chemistry experiments, since he’s really quite taken to the subject. When they’re done eating, they play a few rounds of cards, until it’s late in the night and May has to kick her nephew and his friend out, telling him to go back to their room at the inn with a laugh and a face red from mead. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Do MJ and Peter actually sleep that night? No, definitely not. And in the morning on Saturday, it shows, at least for Peter. MJ still buys him a lesson with the stablemaster on riding, and she and May and Evie shop at the market in the square. One of MJ’s favorite traders is passing through, too, so she takes the opportunity to buy every book he has, while simultaneously charming him into giving them all to her at a massive discount. Evie promises to keep them for her until she can return with a cart for them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The three women also buy some pastries from the bakery, and MJ decides to also buy herself a new pair of leather riding pants from the Tanners. In addition, she gets Peter a pair of thick wool pants from the Fullers, since he will need to ride back up the mountain on his own tomorrow. Perhaps she will send her cloak with him, too, just to make sure he doesn’t die of hypothermia on his way back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All in all, it’s quite a productive morning, even if Peter looks like he’s about to fall asleep standing up by the time his riding lesson is over. Luckily, May is fine with letting him nap in the loft while May, Evie, and Michelle make plans to meet later next week, on Wednesday. MJ gets to meet Liz, the girl Peter used to have a crush on, who is now May’s apprentice, and she and Liz bond over their shared fondness for Peter’s biceps, giggling away together while May and Evelyn actually get work done. Peter finally wakes up as the sun is setting, which, coincidentally, is when May is done making their hand pies for dinner. Okay, so maybe it’s not so coincidental. Even more than sex, Peter is motivated by food. MJ laughs as he nearly falls down the ladder trying to be the first one to get to stuff his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Together, they eat dinner, and then MJ and Peter make their way back to the inn, for another sleepless night. Well, okay, actually, they do manage to get about three hours in, but that’s still not that much. They go to May’s for breakfast, and then MJ and Peter part ways- she’s going to go back to her village from here, and he’s going back up the mountain. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>MJ makes sure, before they part ways, that Peter is as well insulated as possible. Down here in the valley, it feels a little warm, and he feels a bit like a human marshmallow,  but as he and Karen start making their way up, he’s suddenly very grateful to MJ that she bought him these pants and loaned him her cloak. Even with the inexplicably warm cloak, his toes feel a little numb by the time he’s made it all the way back up and put Karen’s tack away and groomed her. He hangs the snow-wet cloak up in his kitchen next to the door to the main cavern, along with his own cloak, then he takes off his boots, grateful that the floors are heated. And </span>
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  <span> they are today, seeming to heat up where he walks just to warm his toes. He draws himself a hot bath and dumps some of the salt Michelle has brought him into it, sinking down into the water after stripping off his travel-dirtied clothes. It’s easy, after only getting three hours of sleep last night, to fall asleep in the warm tub. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Peter’s awoken by a panicked shout of “Peter! You’re going to drown, wake up!” In his mind. He jolts up, splashing water out of the tub, and takes a deep breath. Oh, so the dragon is back. That’s just great. Wait, he didn’t mean to sound so sarcastic. It really is great. He finishes his bath quickly, drains the tub, and throws his clothes in to wash them later. Then, he goes to put on some soft pants, picks up his latest book from his nightstand, and goes out in the main cavern to find Her. He’s pleasantly surprised to find Michelle laying on her back, belly exposed, with her neck extended and bared. She rarely sleeps like this, but when she does, he knows she’s actually relaxed for once. He goes to sit next to her head, resting his back against her lower jaw and picking up his book to read, at least until it gets too dark to keep reading. Then, he sets his book aside, curling up next to Michelle’s throat and closing his eyes, warmed by her body’s warmth, despite the cool air coming in from the skylight. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Please comments please???? Also I think Caramel did beta this but idk if all of it makes sense still Bc I changed some stuff so lemme know if something doesn’t make sense</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The Hidden City</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>may meets michelle, peter goes on an adventure</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It becomes a habit for Peter, taking naps against the dragon. At first, he did it simply for the warmth, and because Michelle still praises him every time he read something out loud correctly. It’s nice, laying down with a good book to read to her. Peter’s reading skills have grown immensely since he first learned his letters all those months ago. But, soon, reading together before bed becomes a habit, at least when Michelle isn’t on one of her trips, and therefore, napping against her when his eyes grow tired also becomes a habit. </p><p> </p><p>As the spring equinox approaches, Peter and Michelle begin to go on day trips together, usually on a Tuesday. Peter gets the honor of actually being able to ride a dragon. Apparently, even between dragons and their human companions, it is a very rare opportunity. It certainly feels special, sitting on Michelle’s neck and watching as whole villages pass by underneath them. He’s not afraid, although he most certainly would die from a fall from the heights they reach.</p><p> </p><p>It’s easy, learning to live with and trust his teacher. She’s a good teacher, and she’s kind, and she cares about him, so it’s easy to forget that, to others, she might be a giant, terrifying creature whose presence signals imminent death. To him, she’s like an extra extra large cat that can communicate telepathically. Just like a cat, she enjoys playing with balls of yarn, she enjoys getting scratches under her jaw, and she’s very particular about which humans she allows to be near her. It’s really no wonder she and Bea get along so well. If Bea were green and scaly, Peter would think the two of them were related. </p><p> </p><p>Speaking of things that are related: Peter and May are related. May is a wonderful person, and Peter likes to visit May once a month, just to catch up and play cards, even if MJ isn’t with him. Today, the Wednesday after their second trip, he leaves early in the morning so he can get to May’s before noon. See, he has a plan. Yesterday, Michelle said that he could bring May and Evelyn back to spend a night in the mountain, and she’d set them up in guest quarters he hadn’t even realized existed. So, his goal is to get back to the mountain with both May and Eve with him by the evening, so Michelle can meet his Aunt. </p><p> </p><p>He makes it to the village in record time despite having his cart with him, and he ties Karen outside May’s house while he walks in, hugging May tight even though it distracts her from her work. “Hey, did you get my letter?”</p><p> </p><p>“The one about Eve and Me coming back to the mountain with you today? Yes,” May laughs, turning away from her work so she can hug him properly.</p><p> </p><p>“And? Can you?”<br/><br/></p><p>“I can, Eve’s gone to the market, though, so we can leave when she gets back, or we can go meet her. Which would you prefer?”<br/><br/></p><p>“Um, I’d prefer to meet her there. I’m starving!”</p><p> </p><p>“Alright, come on,” May laughs, reaching over for her boots and pulling them on, then grabbing her and Eve’s already packed bags and bringing them out, putting them in the back of Peter’s cart and riding in it with him to the market. </p><p><br/>“So, May, how did ‘Ye Olde Food and Clothing Bank’ work out?” Peter asks, referring to the project they began in September. (a/n: that name is a request from my beta reader lol)</p><p> </p><p>“It did really well! Actually, the council has decided to continue it throughout the summer, even though everyone has gardens. And now, everyone who can contribute is expected to, just so we make sure everyone here is being fed,” May grins over at him, waving her hands around as she talks- a key indicator that she’s very happy.</p><p> </p><p>“Even if they don’t want to contribute?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, they can either contribute, or find another village to live in. No one here is stupid enough to think that they’d do better somewhere else, though. I mean, for one thing, we have a treaty with the dragon. Also, even while we ask them to contribute to everyone not starving, those who are doing well are still doing extremely well, especially in the market. People still like to have luxury goods, even when their basic needs are being met, therefore, they still buy things and people still do work,” May explains. </p><p> </p><p>“Well, yeah, that’s true,” Peter nods. “I mean, I could just do the bare minimum for the dragon, and she would still make sure I was fed and clothed and warm. But I still strive to learn new things and keep my own garden and take care of my pets,” he agrees. “I mean, I don’t technically have to do any of that. But I do it because it’s fulfilling.”</p><p> </p><p>“Exactly. The council is hoping that this will encourage people to start learning trades they’re interested in, instead of just the family trade guaranteed to bring income. It’ll also help shake up the monopolies some families have on certain areas of trade in the village by stripping away the connection between money and meeting basic needs, thus allowing them to train others in their craft without fearing that that person will be better and take away all their business and therefore their livelihoods.”</p><p> </p><p>“So, by reducing people’s reliance on business as a means of getting their basic food and clothing, you’re increasing diversity in trade?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, exactly. As well as improving the general quality of life in the village, and reducing the amount of graves we have to dig.”</p><p> </p><p>“And people will continue to produce things and work, because they’ll want luxury items and find their work fulfilling?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, that’s the plan. Eve says that it should work, based on everything she’s read. But she’s gonna do some extra research when we get to the mountain today, just to make sure.”</p><p> </p><p>“It sounds like it’ll work out,” Peter shrugs. “And even if there are one or two people in the village who would rather just have their basic needs met and not do anything beyond that, so what? They don’t deserve to die of starvation just because they don’t want to or can’t perform labor.”</p><p> </p><p>“Or freeze to death,” May agrees. “Everyone deserves food, water, and shelter.”</p><p> </p><p>As he and May approach the Market, Peter gets Karen to halt, so he can get off the cart and go over to the Baker’s, where he buys some soft, doughy rolls filled with expensive cinnamon and sugar. Yum, luxury items, bought with an allowance Peter earned by doing work he didn’t have to do just to have his basic needs met. He walks back to the cart with them, handing one to May, then going to find Evelyn and bring her back so they can be on their way. Which doesn’t take long, and soon they’re on their way up the mountain. </p><p> </p><p>When they get up to the main entrance of the cave network, Peter opens up the entrance completely, drives the cart in, and then closes the giant stone doors behind them, the torches on the walls igniting as the daylight from outside fades. He unhooks Karen and feeds her in her stall. Leaving the cart parked near the entrance, he leads May and Evelyn down a passageway prior to the main cavern, opening up a door to the guest quarters. It’s small, just a bed and some places to put their things- definitely not something meant for anyone to stay in for longer than a day or two. After they get their stuff put down, Peter leads them out, to where Michelle is waiting for everyone to get there. Evelyn, of course, is instantly relaxed around her close friend, but May- well, May is definitely not relaxed. May’s shoulders are almost at her ears, and her eyes are wide as she stares at the giant green lizard in fear. Peter puts his hand on May’s shoulder. “Breathe, May,” he whispers, then looks up at Michelle. </p><p> </p><p>“Ma’am, this is May, my aunt,” he introduces them. “May, this is my teacher.”</p><p> </p><p>Michelle rumbles a bit in her chest, puffing it up and preening a bit. To everyone (aka, into everyone’s heads), she says, “May, it’s so nice to meet you. I’m so glad you came. Please, settle in. I’ve had Peter set up some chairs near the fire, but if it’s too hot there, he can move them into my sleeping area.”<br/><br/></p><p>“Thank you for inviting me into your home. How should I address you while I’m here?”</p><p> </p><p>“You may call me Michelle, May.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey!” Peter interjects, looking between them. “I don’t even get to call you that, ma’am.”</p><p> </p><p>“May is a village elder, Peter. She automatically gets to call me Michelle.”</p><p> </p><p>Peter pouts, going to sit by the fire with Evelyn while Michelle brags to May about her library and gives a tour. Eventually, May and Michelle emerge from the library, and the four of them sit around the fire to eat dinner. And late, late at night, everyone goes to bed. </p><p> </p><p>The next day, Peter brings May and Evelyn home in his cart, and then he makes the trek back up alone, with Karen and a cart full of supplies. He gets home, and he immediately  falls asleep. He has a pleasant surprise when he’s awoken by MJ crawling into his bed and cuddling close. “Hey, Em, you’re here early.”</p><p> </p><p>“I Missed you, loser.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s only been a week, Em,” Peter rolls his eyes, wrapping his arm around her waist and bringing her close. “But I missed you too. I wish you could just… I don’t know. I wish you could meet the dragon, and that she’d let you stay. I just wish you could stay, Em. I love you, you know.”</p><p> </p><p>And. Yeah. He really does love her. He’s head over heels. So even when she doesn’t say it back, he doesn’t mind. He knows she feels the same way from how she smiles back at him, nodding as she tells him, “I know, Peter.”</p><p> </p><p>“I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Em.”</p><p> </p><p>“The rest of your life? That’s an awful long time, Peter.”</p><p> </p><p>“The rest of my life. I want to spend my days working by your side and my nights laying side by side.”</p><p> </p><p>“You do?” MJ’s face is doing that funny thing where she’s smiling, but she’s tearing up at the same time. </p><p> </p><p>“I do, MJ. I want to grow old together,” Peter takes a big breath, gauging her reaction carefully. She looks happy, but teary at the same time, “and maybe have kids, you know?”</p><p> </p><p>MJ takes a big breath too, wiping her eyes. “Peter, I’m just… I’m not sure I can even <em> have </em> kids. I mean, if I could, I’d already be pregnant, probably. We haven’t exactly been careful. But… I’m not. And the dragon- I don’t think she’d let that happen.”</p><p> </p><p>Peter sighs. “I know, Em, but… I still would like to try. Please.”</p><p> </p><p>“Alright, Peter. We can try.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>On his third trip with Michelle, they head south, flying over village after village, until they’ve landed outside a large walled city that Peter’s never seen the likes of before. He’s a little worried about the humans in the city deciding to attack her, but as if she’s reading his mind (wait, can dragons read minds? Has she been able to read his mind this whole time?), Michelle informs him that, “This is a city hidden from humanity, Peter. There are people of all kinds here, but the only humans permitted are companions. Be careful that you do not stray far from me, or you will be arrested for trespassing.”<br/><br/></p><p>“Humans aren’t the only kind of people?” Peter asks, after a moment of thinking about the implications of ‘arrested for trespassing.’ He decides to dismount anyway, climbing down off of Michelle’s back carefully.</p><p> </p><p>“No, there are many sentient species all across the world, Peter,” Michelle laughs in his head, nudging him affectionately with her nose once his feet are on the ground. “Humanity isn’t the only sentient species, you know that,” she reminds him. </p><p> </p><p>“Well, there are dragons, of course,” Peter nods. “But I did not know there were others.” </p><p> </p><p>“Well, there are many others. Many of them are aquatic, which is why half of the city is underwater, as you could see when we arrived. There are also many peoples that live underground to avoid humanity, or deep in the woods where humans dare not venture. There are also various flying species that live in floating cities in the clouds, but they rarely venture down to the surface.”</p><p> </p><p>“Do any of them appear human?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh yes, many species can pass as human. And there are many human hybrids as well, though they tend to be infertile, and therefore, they cannot be counted as separate species. The exception to that are the draconid hybrids, though those are incredibly rare.” </p><p> </p><p>“The… draconid hybrids,” Peter repeats, looking at her for a moment. Okay, no, he doesn’t even want to know how a draconid hybrid would be created, nope. Imagining a human, you know, with a giant lizard? Yeah, no, not for him, no thanks. He shakes his head to clear that mental image out of his head. “Alright, so, um, are we going into the city?”</p><p> </p><p>“We are,” Michelle confirms, but lifts her leg and nudges him gently with it, “In the supply bag, there should be a cloak for you. Put it on, it will mark you as a companion.”</p><p> </p><p>Peter obeys, taking the deep purple cloak out of the bag, fastening the gold clasp carefully. This much purple dye? It must have cost a fortune. “Ma’am, do I even want to know how much this is worth?” he asks, finding that the interior has pockets when he and Michelle begin walking towards the city gates.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s priceless, Peter. Do not lose or sell it. There should be a good supply of currency in the pockets, and there is a dagger strapped to the interior as well. Do not let anyone take that cloak from you, do you understand?”</p><p> </p><p>Peter gulps. “Uh- yes ma’am,” he agrees, fiddling with the clasp to make sure it’s secure. </p><p> </p><p>“You may begin addressing me as Michelle, Peter,” the dragon informs him, casually, as if it’s not a huge milestone in their friendship. Then, she goes quiet, likely communicating with the city guards to gain entrance or something. Peter just stares up at her. </p><p> </p><p>When the gates open up and she begins walking inside, Peter just has to run after her to catch up. “Michelle, what are we here for? Why are we in the city?”</p><p> </p><p>“I have a meeting with an old friend. You may shop in the market near our meeting-place, but do not stray any further. Perhaps find yourself some exotic fibers to knit with, hmm?”</p><p> </p><p>“Who are you meeting with?”</p><p> </p><p>Michelle laughs at him in his head. “Dragon names are a sacred thing, Peter. You have to earn the right to use them and know them. You may think of her as ‘the Black Widow,’ for her scales resemble the spider’s pattern.”</p><p> </p><p>“Had I earned the right to know your name when I met you?” Peter’s a little confused. Michelle gave him her name the first day he met her.</p><p> </p><p>“No, you hadn’t. Michelle is… a nickname, of sorts. An alias.”</p><p> </p><p>“If it’s an alias, why did I have to earn the right to use it?”</p><p> </p><p>“It was a test, Peter,” she clarifies. “I was making sure you’d respect it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh. Did I pass?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, Peter, you passed. You may call me ‘Michelle’ now. One day, you will know my true name.”</p><p> </p><p>“Alright,” he nods, “One day.”</p><p> </p><p>“One day,” Michelle repeats, tilting her wing down for him to climb up. “We will get to our destination much faster if I can run.”</p><p> </p><p>Peter sighs, climbing back up onto her back, clinging to her as she takes off at a run through the wide city streets. Soon, they arrive at a huge glass building with many, many levels, each tall enough for a dragon twice Michelle’s size to easily make their way though. Michelle allows him to dismount, then points with one of her front legs at the building next to this glass one, an indoor marketplace. “You may only be in that building. Do not explore anywhere else, or you could end up dead. There are many in this city that hate humans and would kill one on sight, regardless of whether that human is marked as my companion.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, Michelle,” Peter agrees, walking into the marketplace while Michelle enters the glass building. He does actually manage to get some shopping done, though he has the distinct feeling that he was overcharged a little for some of his purchases. Regardless, he’s got a new pair of boots, some interesting seeds, a new set of gardening tools, a set of paints, a set of paintbrushes, a new saddle blanket, a harness that the vendor promised him would keep him attached to a dragon in flight, and a whole giant basket of yarn and roving. Oh, and yes, another pair of knitting needles. And a nice recipe book. And some baking supplies. And the small wagon he had to buy to pull around behind him to carry all his purchases. And, lastly, a delicate gold arm band for MJ. That particular purchase, he hides in the pockets of his cloak.</p><p> </p><p>By the time Michelle calls out to him in his head, “Peter, it’s time to go, come outside,” he’s got way, way too much in his wagon. But Michelle just snorts at him. “Alright, Peter, now tell me how you’re planning on transporting all this home,” she laughs at him. </p><p> </p><p>“Well, I made sure to get everything in a bag, so, um, I was hoping I could just tie everything to your legs?”</p><p> </p><p>Michelle huffs at him, but she does sit patiently while he arranges all his purchases so that the weight from his shopping trip is evenly distributed. And she does allow him to try out the riding harness, though he gets the distinct impression she’s making fun of him in her head about it.  </p><p> </p><p>Once everything is loaded up, she runs out of the city before she takes off, explaining, “the city has a no-fly zone over it, if I tried to fly over the walled areas, I would be shot down in an instant.” </p><p> </p><p>“They have weapons that can penetrate your scales?” Peter asks, mildly concerned. </p><p> </p><p>“They have weapons that you couldn’t ever imagine. But they only use them for defense.”</p><p> </p><p>Peter nods, filing that away under ‘information I hope I never have to obtain first-hand.’ </p><p> </p><p>Eventually, about an hour after sunset, they get back to Michelle’s mountain, and Michelle climbs in through the skylight, shaking out her legs one by one once they’re safely in the main cavern. “Come on, get all this junk put away and go take a bath, you smell like city.”</p><p> </p><p>“You smell like city too,” Peter retorts, starting to get everything put away anyways.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, which is why I’m going to go take a bath too. Hurry up,” Michelle urges, a slight whine in her tone. Peter rolls his eyes, taking everything off of her legs at once, and the moment she’s free of his crap, she’s disappearing into a tunnel to one of the lower levels. He takes a little longer to actually bathe, having to put away all the things he bought. </p><p> </p><p>By the time he actually emerges from his rooms to read with Michelle for the night, she’s already settled in next to the fire in the center of the cavern, though she’s made it as bright as possible to allow him to read next to her. It doesn’t take long for him to drift off with the book still in his hands, and in the morning, he wakes up tucked against her belly, her wing covering him protectively. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>A few more letters.</strong>
</p><p>
  <em> Dear May, </em>
</p><p>
  <em> During her last few visits, MJ has been a little bit irritable. We talked about the future, and how I want to grow old together, and after she just started shutting me out. She doesn’t want to talk about it. She just shuts down when I try to ask. She isn’t really talking to me. It seems like all she wants from me is sex. Except when she doesn’t want sex, and all she wants to do is read and pretend I don’t exist. And I never know which mood she’s going to be in anymore. I just don’t know what to do. I love her so much. I miss making her laugh.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> She did enjoy the band I got her from the hidden city a few weeks ago. She’s brought me a few gifts since, too. I just want her to be happy, May. She seems so down.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> With only six more weeks til the equinox, I don’t know if I’m going to ask her to marry me before then anymore. I think I need to wait until she’s in a better state of mind. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Could you give some advice? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Love,  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Peter </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Dear Peter, </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Perhaps something is going on in her life outside of your relationship that she doesn’t want you to know about. I think it would be a good idea to wait until she seems happier. I know she really loves you, sweetheart. She writes me about you too, you know. Just give her some time. I’m sure she’ll open up to you eventually. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Love, </em>
</p><p>
  <em> May.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Dear May, </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Thank you. I really needed to read that. I miss you. Perhaps I will come down to the village for a day if I can get Michelle to allow me the time off. Michelle has been kind of irritable too, lately. She doesn’t like it when I go out on my own. She used to let me sit with her and read at night, but recently, she’s been making me read alone in my room instead. She doesn’t like when I go anywhere but my quarters and the main cavern, really. And she gets really annoyed before she leaves on her trips. I don’t know what’s going on. Could you ask Eve? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Love, </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Peter </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Peter, </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Dragon moods can be finicky and unpredictable, and they last for far longer than human moods do. You will be alright. She’ll go back to being in a good mood eventually, it might take a few months, though. Just be careful not to do anything to make her panic. She is very attached to you, so I would avoid doing anything that could potentially put yourself in danger. If she thought you were in danger, she would burn down the whole forest and the surrounding villages to keep you safe. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>  -Eve.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Dear Peter,</p><p>
  <em> I hope you are doing well. Please remember that the equinox is in three more weeks, and regardless of whether or not you chose to ask MJ to marry you, and regardless of whether or not she agrees, she loves you. Be careful around Michelle right now. Evelyn says she can get especially irritable after the equinox, and that as it gets hotter, so does her temper. I hope you get the sweet cakes I’ve sent with this letter.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Love,  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> May </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Dear May </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Thanks for the advice and the cakes.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Love,  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Peter </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>well, we're approaching the big plot point soon mwahahaha</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>shhh if u know spoilers.<br/><a href="https://thorkyriebabes.tumblr.com/post/635976000169197568/green-fire-being-chosen-is-a-great-honor-if-you%22%3E">this is the link to the tumblr moodboard!</a> please consider reblogging if you like this fic<br/><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/caramelcaramelcaramel/pseuds/caramelcaramelcaramel">CaramelCaramelCaramel</a>, thank u so much for helping me fix my MESS of a google doc and make these chapters presentable<br/>P, thank u for outlining the entire plot w me ily<br/></p></blockquote></div></div>
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